Tool Holder of Machine Tool

Abstract

Provided is a tool holder for a machine tool that can ensure the accuracy of alignment and combination without damaging the bearing surface of the tool and the end face of the tool receiving part during the process of removing the tool. 【Solution means】The tool holder includes a holder body and a tool locking means. The holder body has a sleeve connection hole for inserting a part of the tool. The tool locking means is installed in the sleeve connection hole and includes a shaft sleeve, a push-up block, and at least one bearing ball. The shaft sleeve has a shaft hole, and at least one ball joint is installed in the radial direction. The push-up block is movably installed in the shaft hole, and the push-up block restricts the at least one bearing ball to the at least one ball joint.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a machining tool for a machine tool, and more particularly to a tool holder of a machine tool.

Background Art

[0002] Known tool magazines of machine tools include a plurality of tool receivers for attaching or inserting tools, and tools of different specifications are fixedly installed on each tool. In order to stabilize the tool and prevent the tool from becoming loose from the tool receiver improperly and the tool or the tool from being damaged, it is common to install an engagement restriction structure inside the known tool receiver. The engagement restriction structure is for preventing the tool from becoming loose improperly by giving the functions of abutting and engaging to one end of the tool attached or inserted inside the tool receiver. The engagement restriction structure includes a plurality of radial holes installed at the rear stage of the tool receiver, and a bearing ball and a spring are installed in each radial hole. Attaching the spring means applying a radial force to the bearing ball to force the bearing ball to abut against the tool and insert it into one end of the tool receiver, so that the tool can be stably attached or inserted into the tool receiver.

[0003] In order to enhance the stability of attaching or inserting a tool into the tool receiving part, it is common to preferably select a spring with relatively high rigidity of the material. However, this selection requires applying a relatively large pulling force to overcome the elastic force of the spring when removing the tool. Then, when performing the removal, if there is a problem in controlling the force, there is a risk that the operator may be damaged by the mistake. To avoid the occurrence of the above problem, the currently used form is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Generally, an operator inserts an auxiliary tool (for example, a wrench 1 for removing the tool) into a gap G reserved in advance at a specific position between the tool 2 and the tool receiving part 3, and then, as shown in FIG. 3, forces the tool 2 to separate from the tool receiving part 3 by the wrench 1 for removing the tool. Although the above form can easily remove the tool 2, the portion inserted into the gap G in the wrench 1 for removing the tool is likely to cause wear on the bearing surface 2a of the tool 2 and the end surface 3a of the tool receiving part 3. When acting over a long period, it indirectly affects the accuracy of subsequent alignment and combination. In particular, when the tool 2 is coupled to the spindle of the machining center equipment, the worn bearing surface 2a may affect the stability of coupling the tool 2 to the spindle. Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a tool holder for a machine tool that can ensure the accuracy of alignment and combination without damaging the bearing surface of the tool and the end surface of the tool receiving part during the process of removing the tool. Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] To achieve the above object, the tool holder of the machine tool provided by the present invention is for storing a tool having an end portion. The tool holder has a holder body and a tool locking means. The holder body has a sleeve connection hole and at least one side hole. When defining an axis passing through the center of the sleeve connection hole, the tool advances along the axis through the sleeve connection hole, and the at least one side hole communicates with the sleeve connection hole. The tool locking means is installed in the sleeve connection hole of the holder body and includes a shaft sleeve, a push-up block and at least one bearing ball. The shaft sleeve has a shaft hole, at least one ball joint and at least one groove hole. The axis passes through the shaft hole, the at least one ball joint communicates with the shaft hole and the sleeve connection hole, and the at least one groove hole communicates with the shaft hole and the at least one side hole. The push-up block is installed in the shaft hole of the shaft sleeve and is movable between a first position and a second position along the axis. The at least one bearing ball is housed in the at least one ball joint and is movable between a third position and a fourth position.

Advantages of the Invention

[0006] The effect of the present invention is that when a part of the tool is attached or inserted into the sleeve connection hole in the holder body and the push-up block is located at the first position, the at least one bearing ball is restricted to the third position while When connecting by doing so, while restricting the tool from exiting from the sleeve connection hole, when the push-up block is located at the second position, the at least one bearing ball moves to the fourth position, so that the tool can be separated from the sleeve connection hole.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] To more clearly explain the present invention, preferred embodiments will be given and described in detail as follows with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the machine tool tool holder 100 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied to a disk-type tool magazine, but is not limited thereto. The tool holder 100 has the effect of stabilizing the tool 200 and easily removing the tool 200. The tool 200 has a tool (not shown) fixed to one end and an end portion at the other end. In this embodiment, the end portion is constituted by an annular enclosure 201, and an inward protruding lip portion 202 is formed inwardly toward the edge of the annular enclosure 201, and an engaging surface 202a (see FIG. 9) is formed on the inner wall of the inward protruding lip portion 202.

[0009] The tool holder 100 according to this embodiment includes a holder body 10 and a tool locking means 20. The holder body 10 has a mounting portion 12 and a sleeve joint 14. One end of the mounting portion 12 is pin-jointed to a machine body (not shown) in a machine tool, and the other end is connected to the sleeve joint 14. The sleeve joint 14 has a sleeve connection hole 14a recessed from an end face 10a and at least one side hole 14b located on a side wall. When an axis L passing through the center of the sleeve connection hole 14a is defined, the tool 200 advances along the axis L through the sleeve connection hole 14a. The at least one side hole 14b is an elongated hole and communicates with the sleeve connection hole 14a. In this embodiment, the number of side holes 14b is one, and the rear end of the sleeve joint 14 further has two through holes 14c communicating with the sleeve connection hole 14a.

[0010] The tool locking means 20 is installed in the sleeve connection hole 14a of the holder body 10 and includes a shaft sleeve 21, a limiting portion 22, a spring 23, a push-up block 24, and at least one bearing ball 25. Hereinafter, the detailed structure and relative positions of each component will be described as follows.

[0011] Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the shaft sleeve 21 is a cylindrical body having a shaft hole 21a, and has two lock holes 21b and one screw hole 21c installed along the axial direction at the tail. The shaft hole 21a and the screw hole 21c communicate with each other and are located on the axis L. Further, the shaft sleeve 21 is further provided with at least one ball joint 21d and at least one groove hole 21e in its radial direction. In this embodiment, the shaft sleeve 21 is composed of a small diameter portion 211 and a large diameter portion 212, and the outer diameter of the small diameter portion 211 is smaller than the outer diameter of the large diameter portion 212. The at least one ball joint 21d is located in the small diameter portion 211, and the at least one groove hole 21e is located in the large diameter portion 212. When the shaft sleeve 21 is fixed to the holder body 10 and located in the sleeve connection hole 14a by passing through the through hole 14c correspondingly by two bolts 26 and then locked to the lock hole 21b correspondingly. At the same time, the at least one ball joint 21d communicates the shaft hole 21a and the sleeve connection hole 14a, and the at least one groove hole 21e communicates the shaft hole 21a and the at least one side hole 14b. Preferably, the number of the ball joints 21d is three and they are distributed circumferentially. The groove hole 21e is one and is formed by cutting along the circumferential surface. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the space S formed between the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 211 of the shaft sleeve 21 and the inner wall surface of the sleeve connection hole 14a of the holder body 10 is for inserting the annular enclosure 201 of the tool 200.

[0012] The limiting part 22 has a threaded rod 22a locked to the threaded hole 21c in the shaft sleeve 21 so that the depth of the lock can be adjusted. One end of the threaded rod 22a extends into the shaft hole 21a to form a contact part 22b. In this embodiment, the limiting part 22 is a screw with a hexagonal hole. The spring 23 is installed in the shaft hole 21a in the shaft sleeve 21 and is externally fitted to the threaded rod 22a in the limiting part 22. One end of the spring 23 abuts against the bottom 21f of the hole in the shaft hole 21a.

[0013] The pushing-up block 24 is installed in the shaft hole 21a in the shaft sleeve 21 and is movable along the axis L. The pushing-up block 24 is generally a cylinder, having an inclined pushing-up surface 24a at the front end and a contacted part 24b formed by a flat end surface at the rear end. The other end of the spring 23 abuts against the contacted part 24b, and the elastic force of the spring 23 urges the pushing-up block 24 to move while maintaining it outward. The pushing-up block 24 has a recess on its outer peripheral surface, and the recess corresponds to the groove hole 21e in the shaft sleeve 21. In this embodiment, the recess is an annular groove 24c recessed along the circumferential surface of the pushing-up block 24.

[0014] The number of the at least one bearing ball 25 is three so as to match the ball joint 21d according to the present embodiment. After the pushing block 24 is inserted into the shaft hole 21a, the plurality of bearing balls 25 are respectively installed corresponding to the ball joint 21d in the shaft sleeve 21 one by one. The elastic force of the spring 23 holds the pushing surface 24a of the pushing block 24 in contact with the bearing ball 25, and pushes the plurality of bearing balls 25 radially outwards. As shown in FIG. 8, a part of the surface of the plurality of bearing balls 25 is close to the spherical surface of the ball joint 21d, while the surface of the other part of the bearing ball 25 protrudes to the space S. Defined in this way, the pushing block 24 in this state is located at the first position P1, the bearing ball 25 is located at the third position P3, and the distance between the groove wall 21g in the groove hole 21e (that is, the bearing surface defined in the present invention) and the groove wall 24d in the annular groove 24c (that is, the pushing surface defined in the present invention) becomes the first distance G1.

[0015] Next, the form of connecting the tool holder 100 and the tool 200 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, when attaching or inserting the tool 200 into the tool holder 100, first insert the annular enclosure 201 into the space S between the holder body 10 and the shaft sleeve 21, and then, by the inward protruding lip portion 202, push the bearing balls 25 so as to move toward the axis L while keeping away from the third position P3. At the same time, by the bearing balls 25, push the lifting block 24 so as to move out and move in the direction from the first position P1 to the restricting portion 22. When the contacted portion 24b of the lifting block 24 contacts the contacting portion 22b of the restricting portion 22, it is defined that the lifting block 24 is located at the second position P2. At this time, the position where the lifting block 24 is located can be ensured to maintain the contact between its lifting surface 24a and the plurality of bearing balls 25, and it is possible to prevent the bearing balls 25 from accidentally falling from the ball joint 21d where they are located. When defined in this way, the bearing balls 25 in this state are located at the fourth position P4, and the lifting block 24 is simultaneously pushed out so that the spring 23 is deformed, and the distance between the groove wall 21g and the groove wall 24d is increased to be the second interval distance G2.

[0016] When the inner protruding lip portion 202 of the tool 200 passes through the bearing ball 25 while being continuously inserted toward the tool holder 100, as shown in FIG. 10, the push-up block 24 is pushed up by the spring 23 and quickly returns to the first position P1 from the second position P2. The distance between the groove wall 21g and the groove wall 24d is restored to the first distance G1 again, and a distance is maintained between the contact portion 24b of the push-up block 24 and the contact portion 22b of the limiting portion 22. At the same time, the push-up surface 24a of the push-up block 24 pushes the bearing ball 25 located at the fourth position P4 outward and returns it to the third position P3. The bearing ball 25 is simultaneously abutted against the push-up surface 24a of the push-up block 24 and the engaging surface 202a of the inner protruding lip portion 202 of the tool 200. As described above, the tool 200 is firmly coupled to the tool holder 100 and is prevented from unexpectedly exiting from the sleeve connection hole 14a.

[0017] When attempting to remove the tool 200, if the plurality of bearing balls 25 are loosened by pushing the lifting block 24 in the direction of the second position P2, the tool 200 can be more easily removed from the tool holder 100. The form of removing the tool is such that the end face 10a of the holder body 10 and the bearing surface 203 corresponding to the end face 10a of the tool 200 are not damaged. In the application example, the operating portion provided by the present invention is used to push the lifting block 24. As shown in FIG. 11, the operating portion 30 has a wide portion 32 and an elongated portion 34. The wide portion 32 is for facilitating the lifting by the operator. The elongated portion 34 is connected to the wide portion 32 and has a front edge portion 34a and a rear edge portion 34b that face backward. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the elongated portion 34 of the operating portion 30 passes through the side hole 14b and the groove hole 21e, and one end of the elongated portion 34 is inserted into the annular groove 24c. As shown in FIG. 14, when the operating portion 30 is pulled, the operating portion 30 defines a contact point on the groove wall 24d (i.e., the pushing surface) of the rear edge portion 34b as a functional end portion with a contact point on the groove wall 21g (i.e., the bearing surface) of the front edge portion 34a as a fulcrum. Based on the lever principle, the operating portion 30 is pushed by the functional end portion to move the lifting block 24 in the direction of the second position P2, and the bearing balls 25 are loosened. As described above, it is easy for the operator to pull out the tool 200 from the tool holder 100. Moreover, in this process, the end face 10a of the holder body 10 and the bearing surface 203 of the tool 200 are not damaged. Thus, the accuracy of assembly is ensured. After the operating portion 30 is removed, the tool holder 100 is restored to the state shown in FIG. 8 in preparation for the next attachment or insertion of the tool 200.

[0018] Note that the operation unit 30 according to the above embodiment pushes the lifting block 24 in the direction of the second position P2 based on the principle of a lever. However, in practice, a configuration where the wall thickness of the elongated portion of the operation unit is slightly larger than the first spacing distance G1 may be selected, and it may be directly inserted into the side hole 14b, the groove hole 21e, and the annular groove 24c. Similarly, it pushes the lifting block 24 to move to the second position P2, so that the bearing ball 25 is in a loose state, and the operator can easily take out the tool 200.

[0019] Also, in the above embodiment, a form of preventing the bearing ball 25 from falling improperly from the ball joint 21d due to the further withdrawal of the lifting block 24 is that the limiting portion 22 is locked behind the lifting block 24 and is axially positioned. To achieve the above object, in the present invention, other embodiments shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 may be adopted. Hereinafter, differences from the configuration according to the above embodiment will be described. Among them, the shaft sleeve 40 shown in FIG. 16 has an axial hole 42 installed axially, and the shaft sleeve 40 is provided with a threaded hole 44 communicating with the axial hole 42 in the radial direction. The limiting portion 46 is a set screw locked in the threaded hole 44. A part of the set screw is located in the axial hole 42 and constitutes a contact portion 46a. The lifting block 48 has a contacted portion 48a formed by an enclosure at the rear end. When the contact portion 46a abuts against the contacted portion 48a, whether the lifting block 48 is directly pushed by the operation unit or indirectly pushed when the tool 200 is attached or inserted, the movement of the lifting block 48 stops, ensuring that the bearing ball 25 does not fall from the ball joint 21d.

[0020] What is described above is only a preferred feasible embodiment of the present invention, and all equivalent substitutions applied in combination with the specification of the present invention and the scope of the patent should be included in the scope of the patent of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0021] 100 Tool Holder 10 Holder Body 10a End Face 12 Attachment Part 14 Sleeve Joint 14a Sleeve Connection Hole 14b Side Hole 14c Through Hole 20 Tool Locking Means 21 Shaft Sleeve 211 Small Diameter Part 212 Large Diameter Part 21a Shaft Hole 21b Locking Hole 21c Threaded Hole 21d Ball Joint 21e Groove Hole 21f Hole Bottom 21g Groove Wall 22 Limiting Part 22a Threaded Rod 22b Contact Part 23 Spring 24 Pushing Block 24a Pushing Surface 24b Contacted Part 24c Annular Groove 24d Groove Wall 25 Bearing Ball 26 Bolt 30 Operating Part 32 Wide Part 34 Elongated Part 34a Front Edge 34b Rear Edge 40 Shaft Sleeve 42 Shaft Hole 44 Threaded Hole 46 Limiting Part 46a Contact Part 48 Pushing Block 48a Contacted Part 200 Tool 201 Annular Enclosure 202 Inner Protruding Lip 202a Engaging Surface 203 Bearing Surface L axis G1 First interval distance G2 Second interval distance P1 First position P2 Second position P3 Third position P4 Fourth position S Space

Claims

1. A tool holder of a machine tool for storing a tool having an end, including a holder body and tool locking means, wherein the holder body has a sleeve connection hole and at least one side hole, and when defining an axis passing through the center of the sleeve connection hole, the tool advances through the sleeve connection hole along the axis, and the at least one side hole communicates with the sleeve connection hole, the tool locking means is installed in the sleeve connection hole in the holder body and includes a shaft sleeve, a push-up block and at least one bearing ball, the shaft sleeve has a shaft hole, at least one ball joint and at least one groove hole, the axis passes through the shaft hole, the at least one ball joint communicates with the shaft hole and the sleeve connection hole, the at least one groove hole communicates with the shaft hole and the at least one side hole, the push-up block is installed in the shaft hole in the shaft sleeve and is movable between a first position and a second position along the axis, and the at least one bearing ball is housed in the at least one ball joint and is movable between a third position and a fourth position, when a part of the tool is attached and inserted into the sleeve connection hole in the holder body and the push-up block is located at the first position, the at least one bearing ball is restricted to the third position and abuts against the end of the tool, thereby restricting the tool from withdrawing from the sleeve connection hole, while when the push-up block is located at the second position, the at least one bearing ball moves to the fourth position, enabling the tool to withdraw from the sleeve connection hole. A tool holder of a machine tool.

2. including an operating part, the operating part has a functional end inserted into the at least one side hole and the at least one groove hole and contacting the push-up block, and when the operating part is controlled, the functional end pushes the push-up block to move to the second position. The tool holder of the machine tool according to Claim 1.

3. The push-up block has a recess on its outer peripheral surface, and the functional end portion of the operation portion can be inserted into the recess. The tool holder of the machine tool according to claim 2.

4. The at least one groove hole in the shaft sleeve has a bearing surface, and the recess in the push-up block has a pushing surface. The operation portion has an elongated portion that can be inserted into the at least one side hole, the at least one groove hole, and the recess, and the elongated portion has the functional end portion. The operation portion contacts the functional end portion with the pushing surface with the point where the elongated portion contacts the bearing surface as a fulcrum, and when the operation portion is pulled, the push-up block is pushed to move to the second position. The tool holder of the machine tool according to claim 3.

5. The at least one groove hole in the shaft sleeve is provided by cutting on the circumferential surface, and the recess in the push-up block is an annular groove configured to be recessed on the circumferential surface, and the annular groove corresponds to the at least one groove hole. The tool holder of the machine tool according to claim 3 or 4.

6. The shaft sleeve has a small-diameter portion and a large-diameter portion, the at least one ball joint is installed in the radial direction of the small-diameter portion, and the at least one groove hole is installed in the radial direction of the large-diameter portion. The tool holder of the machine tool according to claim 1.

7. The tool locking means includes a limiting portion, the limiting portion is coupled to the shaft sleeve and has a contact portion. The push-up block has a pushing surface at the front end and a contacted portion at the rear end, holds the pushing surface in contact with the at least one bearing ball, and when the contacted portion and the contact portion are in contact, the push-up block is located at the second position. The tool holder of the machine tool according to claim 6.

8. The shaft sleeve has a threaded hole communicating with the shaft hole, and the axis passes through the threaded hole. The limiting portion has a threaded rod locked in the threaded hole, one end of the threaded rod located in the shaft hole constitutes the contact portion, and the push-up block has an end face constituting the contacted portion at the rear end. The tool holder of the machine tool according to claim 7.

9. The shaft sleeve has a threaded hole communicating with the shaft hole, and the threaded hole is located in the radial direction. The limiting portion has a set screw locked in the threaded hole, a portion of the set screw located in the shaft hole constitutes the contact portion, and the push-up block has, at the rear end, an enclosure constituting the contacted portion, the tool holder of a machine tool according to claim 7.

10. The tool locking means includes a spring, and the shaft hole in the shaft sleeve has a hole bottom portion. The spring is installed in the shaft hole, one end abuts against the hole bottom portion while the other end abuts against the push-up block, and the elastic force of the spring maintains the push-up block in moving to the first position, the tool holder of a machine tool according to claim 1.

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